A shocking video has surfaced in which Congress workers in Andhra Pradesh’s Kovvuru town have been seen stuffing live pigeons inside fire crackers and setting it alight.

The idea was that the pigeons will be released when the rockets burst and fly off – making for a grand spectacle during the visit of state Congress chief N Raghuveera Reddy. But the rockets went up and the pigeons fell dead, roasted in the intense heat when the crackers burst high up.

Several Congress workers in the town of Kovvuru in southeastern India launched firecracker rockets with two pigeons inside in order to greet the President of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) Raghu Veera Reddy, Sunday.

The footage shows men stuffing a live pigeon into a firecracker rocket before launching it in front of a crowd.